


Overcoming the Darkness

by Long_Live_Regina (Anne_Bensler)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: And no two Dark Ones either, Camelot, Character Study, Dark One Evil Queen | Regina Mills, F/M, Family, Magic, None of that Dark Swan stuff, Original story within the OUAT setting, dark regina
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:27:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29340564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anne_Bensler/pseuds/Long_Live_Regina
Summary: What if Regina hadn’t allowed Emma to step in and had become the Dark One?I know this has been done before but there are too many stories to check what has and hasn’t been written. Maybe you don’t want yet another take on what might have happened, but if you do, here’s mine!As my SVU readers know I love a good character study so don’t expect a fast-paced story. Also, while I don't consider this an AU story, I have made quite a few changes to the storyline, so I have done more than just switch the characters. For starters, I took out Zelena’s pregnancy, which I truly hated. And I’m an OutlawQueen shipper, which will also shine through brightly in this story. Other changes will unfold over time.I hope you will enjoy my version of these events! We begin in the final scene of the final episode of season 4.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood
Comments: 26
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**1**

“Regina!”

“Mom!”

“No!”

Their panicked cries had echoed in her mind. For a few blissful moments she had been completely numb, filled with an almost deafening silence. Slowly, she had felt the cold of the concrete underneath her seep through her clothes as she lay in the street, knocked down by the dark powers that had needed a tether and had descended on her, and for a moment she hadn’t wanted to get up.

Emma had wanted to take her place, she knew that. The woman’s panic had been real.

“You’ve worked too hard to have your happiness destroyed!” the blonde had shouted at her through the haze of blackness surrounding her.

With the dark magic swirling around her like a tornado, Regina had stood her ground, grabbing the dagger from Emma’s hand, and she had made eye contact with Snow. She knew the woman would understand what she would have to do, and she and her husband had done it, together with Hook. They had grabbed Emma and pulled her back, so she couldn’t interfere while Regina had absorbed all of the Dark One’s powers, tethering them to herself to save the town and all its inhabitants from what that darkness would have done if left unleashed.

Regina had forced herself not to look at Henry or Robin and had kept her eyes up at the dagger above her head as she let the darkness pour into her.

For a few moments after it was over, there had been silence. But even as her son was helping her to her feet, the whispers had started. Softly at first, like the sound of running water in the distance, and she had been able to speak a few words with the others. Robin had wanted to hug her and she had let him but after taking a deep breath, she had told them she needed to be alone. Before anyone could object, she had disappeared in a puff of purple and grey smoke, taking the dagger with her.

\---

The whispers were growing louder by the hour and that one, all too familiar voice was gaining in power as well. Regina was tense all the time, unable to relax anymore, pacing all day long. It was a good thing that the Dark One didn’t need sleep because she wasn’t going to get any rest like this. Her mind was spinning and the voices were trying to force her to focus on assembling her new powers to create order in the chaos inside her head. She knew how that worked. Rumplestiltskin had taught her well and his voice was among the whispers in her head. Channeling her emotions was a powerful tool to create magic as well as a logical order in her universe.

Focus. Channel. Control. Prepare. Strike. Destroy. Rule.

That was how she had learned to create order inside herself; to control her emotions, and with them, her powers. Anything that confused her or threatened to hurt her was channeled into that sequence of dark urges, hardening her and protecting her heart while lashing out at anyone who might come too close.

But one thing was different now and it was so different that it was debilitating.

She loved now.

The strongest voice inside her head - her own voice from years ago - wanted her to focus on herself and only herself but her heart was resisting. And it wasn’t just resisting. No, it was almost _welcoming_ the pain this time. Her heart was determined not to be walled off again. She _wanted_ to feel, no matter how much it hurt. She was at war with herself like never before.

She had no idea how long she had been in here, in her hidden mirror room inside her vault. It could be days. She had switched off her phone early on because it kept ringing and buzzing. She wasn’t ready to talk to anyone or even read their worried texts. She needed to find some semblance of balance before she could emerge from her hiding place.

Her name was now staring back at her from the dagger and the only way she knew how to remove it, was for her to be killed with that same dagger. She was now the Dark One and it was ironic to say the least.

“Happy now, mother?” she said sarcastically while staring at herself in one of her mirrors.

For a moment, she considered taking out her heart like her mother had done. It would end the battle inside her instantly. Evil would take over. But no matter how much pain her heart was in, she didn’t want to give up that pain for anything. It was tangible proof, every second of the day, that she was still capable of love and that she had not succumbed to the darkness completely. She missed her son desperately and she longed to see Robin and Roland again. She cherished her memories of them and their love for her and she decided in that moment that her pain would be her power from now on. Being in pain would be her new reality. It would be what would keep the darkness in check.

Regina took a deep breath and breathed out slowly. She then sat down at her vanity and cleaned her face meticulously before applying new makeup. She noticed she was putting it on a bit more heavily than she’d been used to over the past years, but didn’t think much of it. She wanted to look calm and composed before facing her loved ones again, and her outward appearance was a big part of that. She was paler than she remembered but thought it had to be fatigue. She closed her eyes and thought of the best outfit to go with her new-found balance. She smiled when she found her thoughts instantly drifting to a long, form-fitting leather dress she had worn once long ago, when she was still trying to instill fear wherever she went. She shook her head lightly, telling her inner self _No_ , and then poofed herself into a new outfit.

When she opened her eyes and stood up to look at herself in a large mirror, she blinked a few times. She looked a lot more like her old, evil self than she had expected. She was now dressed in tight black leather pants and a black low-cut bodice underneath a black semi-long fitted leather jacket held together by a wide, double-buckle belt. Black high-heeled boots completed the look. Her deep red lips contrasted starkly with her pale skin and her eyes, heavy with dark makeup, seemed a bit hollow. The only thing that softened her appearance was her hair, which still flowed loosely around her face and down to her shoulders. She stared at herself for a few moments in the mirror, half expecting her reflection to say something to her. She’d been hearing the Queen’s voice inside her head non-stop after all. There was no reason she’d be quiet now. And sure enough, the voice returned.

_Close, but you’re not there yet._

“I don’t want to be you again,” Regina told her evil self.

_You are me, dearie. You’ve always been me._

The use of the word dearie, so typical for Rumplestiltskin, made Regina wonder if it was the spirit of the former Dark Ones speaking to her through her own likeness.

“I’ve changed,” she insisted, addressing her reflection in the mirror again.

 _We’ll see,_ her mirror image replied, smiling confidently at her. And then she added with a smirk, _At least you finally make us look good again._

Regina rolled her eyes and turned away from the mirror. If this was who she was up against, she was ready. She knew her own evil urges only too well and would recognize them. It was time to come out of hiding and face the world again.

\---

Regina decided to walk. She didn’t feel like just appearing out of the blue and not knowing what she was poofing into. As much as she missed Henry and wanted to know how he was doing, her heart took her into the woods first, to Robin’s camp.

“Regina!”

Little Roland was the first to spot her and he yelled her name enthusiastically before starting to run towards her. His excited cry had drawn his father’s attention as well, and Robin ran after him. Regina felt her heart flutter at the sight of them and instantly felt a stab of pain in her chest. She stopped walking and frowned, then reminded herself that pain was good. It was a good sign.

 _Oh, you’re so weak!_ the Queen hissed inside her head.

“Shut up,” she whispered back. “They love me.”

 _That’s only because they don’t know you,_ the Queen sneered. _But they will._

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Regina mumbled, but then Roland reached her and she tried to focus on the little boy, smiling at him.

“Regina, can you come and play?” Roland asked her innocently, reaching for her hand.

The moment his fingers touched hers, the child was knocked over, landing on his back. He looked up at her with wide eyes, and Robin was on his knees next to him in an instant, helping him to sit up. Regina looked at her own hand in surprise, and saw that it was glowing orange.

“What was that, papa?” Roland asked his father, his eyes wide with wonder and shock.

Robin looked up at Regina and saw her hand, which was still glowing. Before he could ask her anything she assured him,

“I didn’t do anything … I mean, I didn’t mean to …”

Her breath hitched when she saw the look in Robin’s eyes. Was he afraid of her? When she looked at her hand again, it was glowing even brighter.

“No,” she whispered.

 _Oh yes!_ the Queen cackled triumphantly in her head.

Regina stumbled back, taking several steps back to create more distance between herself and Robin and Roland. She didn’t want to hurt them but she wasn’t sure what was happening to her. Robin was on his feet and walked up to her, but she took another few steps back.

“Robin, don’t,” she warned him. “I’m not sure what’s happening.”

“I’m not afraid of you, Regina,” Robin told her, but as much as she wanted to believe him, the look in his eyes just now had told her something else.

 _He’s afraid and you know it,_ the Queen said.

Regina frowned and looked at her hands, which were now both glowing and she was beginning to feel the heat in her palms.

“Maybe you should be,” she said softly.

Robin had stopped coming closer to her and she was relieved that he wasn’t trying to touch her right now, but it also hurt because she had longed to feel his touch again. His love had been so healing for her and held such an amazing promise for the future, but the closer he got, the more the dark fire inside her raged.

“You’ll find a way to deal with this,” Robin said confidently. “I have faith in you, Regina.”

When she made eye contact with him, he added sincerely, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. “But I think that’s why I can’t be here right now.”

Her throat felt constricted and the last thing Robin and Roland heard before she poofed away was a muffled sob.

\---

Regina was back in her vault, feeling very upset. She felt like kicking something or breaking something and ended up throwing a heavy crate across the room, shattering it against the wall, making the contents of the crate spill out on the floor. Her knees buckled then and she sat down in the middle of the mess she’d made, crying. Her hands were still glowing but not as much as they had when she had seen Robin and Roland. She was afraid now to go anywhere near Henry, thinking the same thing might happen again, or worse.

Roland hadn’t been injured, she had just startled him, but it hurt her to know the little boy wouldn’t understand. She could only hope Robin would find a way to reassure him. But she also knew Robin would tell the others what had happened.

 _They’re gonna turn on you now,_ the Queen said.

“Shut up.”

Regina didn’t want to hear it. It was a deeply rooted fear that the people who had come to accept her, would eventually reject her again.

_They only tolerate you for Henry’s sake. You know that._

“Henry loves me.”

_He only loves parts of you. If he knew all of you … if he knew us …_

“He’s seen you but he gave me a chance to show him I could change,” Regina argued, getting up to go and find a picture of her son.

_But you haven’t changed. Not really. You keep coming back to me when you need me and you know it._

Regina shook her head. It wasn’t true. Was it? She found a framed picture of herself with Henry, taken by Graham before Henry had begun pulling away from her and everything had started to change. He had come back to her since then and their love was real and true, as the love between a mother and her child should be.

“I broke the second curse with true love,” she reminded herself out loud.

The Queen responded with scornful laughter and Regina wondered if she had really sounded like that in the past.

_Oh Regina. Love is weakness. When are you going to accept that?_

Regina sighed. She wasn’t going to answer that. She was confused about what had happened to her when she saw the man she loved and his son. She had felt happy to see them but something inside her had responded in a very different way. Regina walked back to her mirror room slowly, deep in thought. Something inside of her had railed against her longing to see her loved ones again. It was as if the darkness didn’t want her to see them.

Suddenly she had a thought. Regina walked up to one of her bigger mirrors and asked herself,

“If love is weakness, then why keep me away from it? You _want_ to weaken me, right? So you can take over. Then why not let them weaken me?”

She stared at her own reflection and could see her eyes - _her_ eyes - darken. She was onto something.

“Unless …” Regina said slowly.

 _Enough of this nonsense!_ the Queen yelled, interrupting her train of thought. _You don’t need anyone. People only ever end up hurting you. It’s what they do. You can only rely on yourself. And on power. You have more power now than ever before. Don’t let it go to waste!_

“I never wanted power.”

_But you got it and then you loved it! You can fool everyone else but you can’t fool me, dearie. You embraced the power and the darkness once. You enjoyed it! You’re a murderer a hundred times over and there’s no coming back from that._

Regina blinked a few times and looked down at the picture of her and Henry she was still holding.

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” she whispered, her eyes glossing over.

_I think a couple of hundred people who lost their loved ones because of you will beg to differ._

“That was you!” Regina yelled defensively at the mirror but the Queen just laughed.

_I am you, Regina. Never forget that. Don’t act as if we’re two different people. We’re not. I am you and you are me and that’s never going to change. Everything I did, you did._

“I have changed. I can use light magic now,” Regina countered.

 _Are you sure about that?_ the Queen asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I used it against Zelena!”

_Once. But you’re the Dark One now. I doubt you’ll ever use light magic again._

“I’ve fought the darkness inside me before and I can do it again.”

Regina’s voice was shaking but she really did mean what she was saying.

 _Yes, you’ve fought but lo and behold, I’m still here,_ the Queen stated triumphantly. _So I guess you haven’t won at all._

Regina closed her eyes and tried to take a few deep breaths. It was hard to argue with herself, especially when she made sense. Yes, she had fought, but had she truly changed at all? She had wanted to believe she was on a new path, but was she really, if she could be pulled back to the darkness time and again?

\---

**Notes chapter 1: So, would you like more? Yes? No?**

  
**PS. Yes, Dark Regina’s outfit is very similar to the Queen’s very first all black outfit in the season 2 episode “The Doctor”, when she returned to Rumplestiltskin, fully motivated to learn dark magic at last. I just made the jacket shorter because she’s in our world here.**


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

Henry was worried sick about his mother and everyone could see it. It had been three days and nobody had seen her or heard from her. She had sealed off her vault with a protection spell and Emma hadn’t thought it was appropriate to try and break it. At least they knew where she was, and from the looks of it, she wasn’t spinning out of control. Yet.

“What if she’s evil again when she comes out?” Henry asked over breakfast, voicing the concern they all had.

They knew Regina had been working hard to make amends over the past two years but they had all seen her dark side as well. Even after she had promised Henry she would stop using magic, she had let herself get lured back by her mother. All she had wanted was her mother’s love but she had made some pretty bad decisions to try and get love. She had even wanted to destroy Storybrooke and everyone in it, just so she could have Henry to herself.

When the dark magic was severed from Rumplestiltskin, the Apprentice had told them about the Sorcerer, the man the Apprentice worked for. This Sorcerer’s name was Merlin. He was the only one who could destroy the Dark One’s powers, since he was the one who originally tethered them to a human soul so he could control them with the dagger. But the Sorcerer had gone missing in a different realm and even the Apprentice hadn’t heard from him in a very long time. 

The old man was very weak, possibly dying, and had been brought to the convent so the fairies could tend to him. Henry, Emma, Hook, Mary Margaret and David visited him at his bedside to ask for his guidance on how to proceed. He gave them a magic wand that would lead them straight to the realm where the Sorcerer was, but it could only be wielded as it was forged: with both sides of the coin as he called it; by someone with light as well as dark magic. They all knew what that meant. There was only one person they knew who had started out as dark as the night, but had changed over time and had moved into the light.

Henry saw the others exchange glances with each other and once again, he was the one to say out loud what they were all thinking.

“Only my mom can do it … if there’s still light in her now.”

“A Dark One voluntarily letting herself be stripped of her powers … it’s never been done,” the Apprentice said, a look of pity in his old eyes.

“I know that. But my mom’s different,” Henry insisted. “She only became the Dark One to protect everyone else. She doesn’t want the power!”

“More Dark Ones have said that, Henry,” the Apprentice said, “but they all succumb to the lure of infinite power … eventually.”

“She won’t. She can’t!” Henry said, his eyes filling with tears.

They all knew he wasn’t certain, he just wished he was right, as did the others. David wrapped an arm around Henry’s shoulders and looked at his wife for some wisdom. Just then, Emma’s phone rang. Seeing it was Robin calling, she answered it quickly.

“Emma, it’s Robin. Regina was just here.”

“Robin! She’s with you now?” Emma replied, and everyone perked up and listened to Emma’s end of the short conversation.

“Alright ... Okay ... So everyone’s alright? ...Yeah, except for Regina, I got that.”

“What happened?” Henry called out, his eyes wide with shock.

“Robin, we’re going to meet you there, alright?” Emma quickly said, and then she hung up to tell the others what Robin had just told her.

“So she hasn’t turned dark. That’s what that means right?” Henry said after hearing what had happened, his voice full of hope. “She’s just … confused. Right?”

“That’s what it looks like, kid,” Emma agreed. “Come on. We have to find her. Robin’s meeting us at the vault.”

They left the Apprentice in the capable hands of the fairies and thanked him for the wand before filing out of the room to go and find Regina at last.

\---

Inside the vault, Regina was pacing again. She suddenly had no idea why there were so many mirrors in the room and she had already smashed a few. The eyes that stared back at her whenever she looked in one of the mirrors, reflected parts of her she didn’t want to see. But even without looking at her reflection, she couldn’t escape the voice in her head that kept taunting her.

_You’re on your own, Regina. Nobody can help you now. They fear you. You saw the look in Robin’s eyes. He’ll never look at you the same way again._

“They know I’m only like this because I wanted to help,” Regina countered.

_Maybe. But they also know how evil you can be. Even your own son called you evil, remember?_

“I changed! For him! He loves me.”

_And now you’ve changed back and they will all know it soon. Or don’t you think that boyfriend of yours is going to tell the others what happened?_

“He will tell them it was an accident. He still loves me. He told me so!”

_Perhaps. But does he still trust you? Will he still want you around his child?_

Regina felt like smashing another mirror and she groaned, forming a fireball in her hand without even realizing it.

_See? You’re becoming your old self again already. Soon, we will be whole again. Just like old times. Just give in to it, Regina. You know you want to. Everything will be clear again. Black and white. Comfortable. Familiar. Normal._

Regina shook her head, as if trying to shake the voice out.

“I will be alone again.”

_You will be with the only person you can truly depend on. Yourself._

Regina left the room, sick of seeing her reflection, and walked into the room across from the mirror room where she had destroyed the crate earlier. Maybe picking up the mess would calm her down. As she gathered the items, she realized the crate had belonged to her mother. A few vials had broken and she wondered briefly what had been in them. She found two small scrolls, no doubt holding spells, and tucked them in her mother’s potion box that she still had.

 _Might come in handy,_ the Queen said, and for once, Regina agreed. She would check the spells out later.

 _Why not now?_ The Queen asked and Regina looked at the box again. She was a bit curious about the spells. What could be the harm in looking? Maybe her mother had something that might actually be helpful to calm her down, she reasoned.

 _Expecting a recipe for herbal tea?_ the Queen asked sarcastically and Regina actually chuckled at that. It was definitely something she would say.

She opened one of the small scrolls and bit her lip when she realized what it was. A repelling spell. And it wasn’t just to repel people or objects physically, like in the Harry Potter books. She could do that just fine by blasting them away. No, this spell could actually make people _want_ to stay away from you. Why would her mother even have such a spell, she wondered. She had always been quite capable of keeping people away because of her personality alone.

The Queen’s voice was silent suddenly and it made Regina wonder if this might be important. Why would anyone want to keep people away from them unless … unless they were trying to protect those people of course. Yes, that had to be it. The Queen didn’t speak but Regina could almost feel her nodding in approval. She should hang on to this spell, just in case, and tucked it in her cleavage.

Relieved that she could finally agree on something with herself, Regina overlooked the fact that Cora had never had the urge to protect anyone but herself …

\---

Regina had barely finished cleaning up when she heard a voice outside, calling out to her.

“Mom? Mom, are you in there?”

“Henry,” she whispered.

She ran her fingers through her hair, suddenly worried again about how she looked. Maybe she should tie her hair back after all. She quickly smoothed her hair back with her hands and made a silver clip appear to hold it together in a low ponytail. While she hurried upstairs to the entrance of the Mausoleum, she ran her fingers along the skin underneath her eyes, making sure no smudges of makeup were left after her crying session earlier. She straightened her shoulders and then magically opened the doors to greet her son.

Henry hadn’t come alone. The whole family was there, even Hook, and Robin too. Regina wanted to rush forward to hug her son but stopped herself, remembering what had happened with Roland. Her eyes connected with Robin’s as she stood in the doorway, and she could see concern in his eyes.

“Regina, are you alright?” Emma asked.

Knowing that Robin had already told them everything, Regina wanted to roll her eyes at Emma’s capacity to ask the one question they all already knew the answer to.

“No. It would appear I’m not,” she stated neutrally.

Keeping her exterior cold seemed to do the trick for now, because her hands weren’t glowing yet. But when Henry stepped forward, she immediately raised her palms to stop him. The instinctual reaction of all the people in front of her to shrink back felt like a slap in the face. The Queen didn’t even have to say a word this time. Regina already knew.

“You are afraid of me.”

“No, we’re not,” Emma said and Regina could feel her annoyance grow against the blonde. “We just think you may not be in control of your new powers yet.”

“I would say that means exactly the same thing,” she sneered and it wasn’t lost on her that she was beginning to sound like the voice inside her head.

“Mom,” Henry said quietly, and Regina felt her heart soften when she focused on her child. “I know you would never hurt me.”

“Not intentionally, Henry,” she told him sincerely but she instantly felt a stab of pain in her chest.

Henry jumped forward, wanting to help his mother but she told him not to touch her.

“But you’re in pain! I can see it!” Henry insisted, his voice filled with concern.

Regina knew she would have to put up some kind of shield if she wanted to stop the pain in her chest; she would have to stop herself from feeling anything for the people in front of her if she didn’t want Henry to worry about her. But hadn’t she decided earlier that pain would be her new reality from now on, to make sure she wouldn’t go dark again?

“The pain is a good thing, Henry,” she told her son, even if the words came out with some difficulty because the pain in her chest was growing, as if someone was stabbing her. But Henry needed to understand. Everyone else could abandon her again, but not him. She knew he was smart. He’d get it. And he did.

“Because the pain means you’re not dark, doesn’t it?” he asked her and his eyes shone with understanding and, dare she believe it, love. He still loved her despite the darkness.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“But how can we help you if we can’t go near you?” Robin asked.

In his eyes she saw something else and it brought on a whole new wave of pain, not only in her chest but in her entire body. She saw longing in Robin’s eyes and when she looked down, she saw her hands begin to glow orange again. She held out her hands to show them to Robin.

“You can’t help me.”

She took a step back then, retreating into the mausoleum and putting her hands behind her back to make sure nobody would be harmed accidentally again.

Then Hook spoke up for the first time.

“Regina, this is what the darkness wants,” he said “It wants to isolate you so it can consume you. Believe me, I know.”

Of all the people in front of her, Hook might be the only one she could accept these words from. Emma and the two idiots had no idea what it was like to be consumed by darkness but Hook did. Which reminded her of Rumplestiltskin. If anyone could offer her more insights in how to function normally while being the Dark One, it was her predecessor.

“Where’s Gold?” she asked, addressing Hook. “Or did you finally kill him when he lost his powers?”

Hook smirked and a look of understanding passed between the two former villains, which elicited a small smile from Regina as well.

“No, I didn’t kill him,” the pirate told her. “But he’s in a coma and may be dying after all. Right now it doesn’t look like he’ll ever wake up again.”

Regina sighed, a sense of defeat washing over her. She looked at her son, who stood closer to her than the others.

“I’m sorry Henry,” she said. “I guess I’m not ready to come out yet.”

“Don’t let it isolate you, mom,” Henry begged, having understood what Hook had said. “It’s not right for you to be alone. I just know it. You gotta let us help you!”

Regina felt her hands heat up again behind her back and took another step back.

“Not now, Henry,” she told her son softly. “It’s too soon.”

“But if you wait too long, it may be too late!” Henry pleaded with her, taking a few more steps closer to her.

“Don’t come closer!” Regina said, automatically holding out her hands in front of her.

Instantly a shockwave rippled from them, causing what felt like a small earthquake. Regina watched the others grab a hold of each other while Robin grabbed Henry’s arm to pull him back, and she knew she had to leave now, before she caused any real damage. She apologized to Henry once more and then made the doors slam shut quickly, sealing them again with a protection spell. She turned around and hurried down the stairs where she was once again alone with her thoughts.

\---

“This isn’t right,” Henry cried, wriggling out of Robin’s grip. “You know that, don’t you?”

“She’s just trying to protect us, Henry,” Robin said.

“But at what cost? She’s gonna lose if she tries to do it all alone!”

“The boy is right,” Hook said, walking up to Robin and Henry, and the others agreed.

“But what can we do if she won’t let us help her?” Robin asked, a slight panic in his voice.

“It looked to me like that thing with her hands only happened when she was talking to you,” Emma chimed in. “So maybe the rest of us can do something if you stay away.”

Robin looked up at the sky and blew out a breath. Just when he’d found her again, it seemed Regina was once again slipping through his fingers.

“Or maybe,” Mary Margaret said slowly, “maybe he is the one person who _should_ try to help her.”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked but Henry was catching on.

“You’re right, grandma! That’s it,” he said, relieved that there might be a solution within reach.

“What’s _it_ , Henry?” Robin asked, still a bit confused.

“Well, it’s like Hook said,” Henry explained. “The darkness is trying to isolate her so she will be all alone and it can take over. That’s why it doesn’t want any of us to come close to her. It sees us as a threat. Especially you.”

“Of course,” Emma said, finally understanding.

“But her true love for you broke an entire curse once,” Robin told Henry. “So why me this time?”

David could answer that question and he smiled at Mary Margaret when he told Robin,

“Because being in love with someone and wanting to spend the rest of your life with them, takes a hell of a lot more willingness to overlook someone’s flaws than it does for a child to love a parent.”

“So it does,” Hook mumbled, and Emma turned to face him and slipped her hand in his.

“It’s the strongest kind of love there is,” she told him softly.

“Just look at Belle,” Henry added and they all agreed that Belle truly possessed the greatest love in all the realms, to still be able to stand by Gold after everything he had done, even to her.

“Love is the most powerful magic of all,” Mary Margaret said, smiling up at her beloved prince before giving Robin’s arm a gentle squeeze.

“Exactly. And it isn’t about her love for any of us this time, but about our love for her,” Emma told Robin.

“I love her,” Robin sighed. “With all my heart.”

“Then you will need to face the darkness inside her, alone.”

“I’ll do anything for her.”

“Awesome,” Henry said. “Now we just need a plan to get you two together. We’ll call it … Operation Moonbeam!”

“Moonbeam?” the others all asked simultaneously.

Henry chuckled and shrugged.

“Yeah. I thought it sounded pretty cool.”

\---

**Notes Chapter 2: To be continued ...**

**I'm trying to keep all the characters in character and I hope I'm doing it right. I love some of the villains more than some of the heroes and I guess that's going to show a bit :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

Regina had gone to the sleeping chamber inside her vault. She didn’t expect that she’d actually sleep this time, but she felt tired nonetheless and thought her body could use some rest even if her mind wouldn’t relax. Her mind just kept replaying the events of the day even after she’d kicked off her boots and crawled under the covers.

She had been so happy to see Henry but she’d been terrified to approach him. And when she’d seen the look in Robin’s eyes … her body still ached when she thought about it. They had only just been reunited after discovering Zelena’s deception. The lengths that woman had gone to to destroy her happiness! It still made her sick that Zelena had ever touched Robin, and he had felt violated when he’d found out he had been sharing a bed with her instead of his resurrected wife. Robin had assured Regina that it hadn’t been much of a married life those two months they had spent in New York, but still. He had been with her half-sister and it was nauseating.

_ He’s not worth your time dearie, if he can be fooled that easily. _

“Shut up,” she mumbled, pulling the comforter over her head.

_ He slept with your sister! _

“He didn’t know that. He was trying to do the right thing.”

_ By sleeping with someone else while thinking of you? How’s that for being truthful, righteous and good, huh? Same goes for sleeping with you while married for that matter. _

Regina squeezed her eyes shut under the covers, willing herself not to start crying again.

_ Love is weakness and he’s the weakest of them all, _ the Queen scorned.

“I don’t care!” Regina said, her voice breaking. “I love him anyway.”

_ Maybe you just don’t think you can do better than some cheating thief. Have you forgotten that you’re royalty? Start acting like the Queen that you are! You have the power now to become the greatest ruler there ever was. You could be Queen of all the realms one day. With this new power, there will be no one left to stop you! Everyone will bow for you. _

“But they won’t love me.”

It had been a lesson she had needed to learn several times before it had sunk in. Even when she was Queen of the Enchanted Forest, the people still loved Snow White, not her. And in Storybrooke, everyone had just done what she wanted them to do because they  _ had  _ to under the dark curse; not because they wanted to. They had feared her but as soon as they had remembered who she was and who they were, they had been ready to execute her.

_ When you have power, you don’t need love, _ the Queen stated.

“That’s not true!” Regina said forcefully, sitting up in bed and glaring at her reflection in the large mirror in the corner of the room. “I  _ had  _ power but I wasn’t happy! The only time I was ever happy was when I had Daniel! And I was never happy again until Henry.”

_ Only weak people need other people, _ the Queen sneered, and the disgust was written all over her face.

“Fine. Then I’m weak. I don’t care anymore.”

The Queen sighed dramatically.

_ If your mother could see you now she would be ashamed of you. _

That hurt, and Regina bowed her head. Regardless of everything that had happened between them, it still hurt to know that her mother would not approve of what she had become. The Queen seemed to realize she had hit a nerve and continued, her voice gradually morphing into Cora’s as she spoke.

_ You actually managed to capture all that power she was after. It’s inside you now, literally at your fingertips! But now that you have it, you resist it. What a foolish girl. _

Regina’s head shot up when she heard the Queen’s voice change into her mother’s voice mid-sentence, and she gasped when she suddenly saw Cora’s reflection in the mirror instead of her own.

“Mother! How … how are you here? You were never the Dark One.”

Regina slipped out of bed and walked up to the large mirror in the corner. Her mother had been dead for some time now and it was surreal to see her standing there, and hearing her voice as clear as day.

_ No, I was never the Dark One, but I knew him … intimately, _ Cora said with a sweet smile.

Regina scrunched up her nose and let out a groan.

“That’s disgusting, mother.”

Cora laughed heartily but then turned serious again.

_ But I didn’t come here to talk about me. Let me look at you, my love! My daughter, the new Dark One! _

Regina struck a pose and turned around before facing the mirror again.

_ I like it. I’d prefer a dress but at least you’re showing off your body again. So much better than those dreadful blouses you had us wear in Storybrooke. But how about at least wearing a longer coat? Wouldn’t that be more feminine, dear? _

Regina bit her lip and took a few steps away from the mirror. She had always been sensitive to her mother’s criticism. Cora had always told her to show the world she was a woman. She had hated her riding clothes and how her daughter had loved riding horses without a saddle, like a man. She was a princess and she should look the part.

_ Perhaps now you can find a man more worthy of you, _ Cora said sweetly. Regina frowned and faced the woman in the mirror again.  _ Posture is self-respect dear. You know that. _

“There’s nothing wrong with my posture.”

_ You can’t show weakness. People will use it against you. _

“You should know. You were one of those people,” Regina countered.

_ I just showed you your weakness so you could get rid of it. To help you. _

Regina closed her eyes and sighed. She should know better than to argue with the ghost of her mother. She could never win. She turned around again and got back into bed. Sleep didn’t sound like such a bad idea right about now. Anything not to have to think, if only for a little while.

\---

“She hasn’t answered her phone in days. What makes you think she’ll pick it up when I call?” Robin asked Henry.

They were all having breakfast at Granny’s the next morning and Roland, Robin and Henry were seated together. Henry had brought the storybook. Operation Moonbeam was on, but aside from calling Regina, they weren’t coming up with a lot of ideas to lure her out of her vault yet.

“I just hope that after seeing us, she’ll want to stay in touch. You know, so we won’t worry too much and will leave her alone.”

“Hm. That does sound like her,” Robin admitted. “But can’t you find any other clues in that book of yours?”

“Maybe.”

Henry opened the book but then looked up at his companion.

“But you do know how this book paints mom, right?”

“Yes. She’s shown me. As a villain. But I refuse to believe that she can’t get a happy ending. She’s been working so hard to change.”

“I know! That’s why my other mom wanted to take her place, but she wouldn’t let her.”

“She wouldn’t let the Savior save her. Maybe … maybe she just doesn’t want to be saved.”

It broke his heart to think this way but Robin wondered if Regina wasn’t on a path of self-sabotage, accepting her fate as a villain. She had taken on the darkness so nobody else would have to, since she was already tainted with it anyway. Could she really be giving up on her own happiness?

Henry was stunned and Robin almost regretted his words. Regina was still his mother and no matter how wise Henry was for his age, he was still just a child. But his response was strong and made him smile despite everything.

“Well, even if she’s giving up, we’re not giving up on her! Heroes never give up.”

“You got that right, Henry,” he said with an encouraging smile. “So why don’t we try calling her and see what happens, and we’ll take it from there.”

\---

Regina had actually napped for about an hour and she felt slightly better after waking up in the morning and eating some fruits. She longed to feel the sunlight on her skin again, and imagined what it would be like to sit underneath her apple tree outside her office right now. She quickly dismissed the idea, knowing she would be spotted within minutes, and those annoying heroes would be back to try and help her. They just couldn’t help themselves but it was too dangerous to let anyone get close to her.

_ You can go wherever you want, dear. You can just poof yourself anywhere. You can do what you want without ever having to talk to anyone. _

Her mother made it sound so easy, almost fun, and it was tempting to go outside, if only for a few minutes. But how could she make sure people would leave her be?   
Cora was silent and Regina closed her eyes, realizing why. She already had the answer to that question. The repelling spell. She would need to use it before coming out of the vault. She pulled the scroll from her cleavage and opened it to read it, wondering if it specified how long the effects would last. She wouldn’t want to be caught in town and suddenly have everyone flock towards her again because the spell had faded. She would want to connect with her friends and family again at some point, but not before she had a better handle on her new powers. She would never forgive herself if she hurt Henry or Robin. Or little Roland. Her heart broke a little each time she thought of the small boy who had run up to her so innocently.

Yes. The repelling spell was the only way to make sure she couldn’t hurt anyone, she decided and she got no argument from anyone inside her head or in her mirrors. The scroll wasn’t clear on how long the spell would last but Regina could tell that it contained enough ink to be cast several times before the scroll would become useless. Cora had probably never even used it once.

After reapplying her makeup and putting her boots back on, Regina stood in front of the mirror to check her appearance. Posture, she reminded herself. She then opened the scroll, moved her hand over the paper to activate it and then held it in front of her so she could inhale the spell. She could feel the magic fill her nostrils and closed her eyes when she felt it begin to dance through her veins, connecting with the currents of dark magic already inside her. She felt herself relax then, for the first time since she had become the Dark One.

Her loved ones were safe now. Safe from her.  _ Now  _ she could come out.

\---

Robin was very surprised when he called Regina that she picked up immediately. But he frowned when he heard her voice and looked at Roland and Henry, who were standing next to him outside of Granny’s.

“I ... I just called to check if you’re alright,” Robin stammered, feeling very strange all of a sudden.

“Oh, I’m fine now Robin. Don’t worry about me,” Regina replied and the only logical thing Robin could think of was to end the call as quickly as he could.

“Alright. That’s good to hear. Bye.”

Henry was astonished.

“What was that? What did she say?” he asked Robin urgently.

“She said she’s fine. I don’t even know why I bothered to call now to be honest.”

“What?!”

Henry grabbed the phone from Robin’s hand and hit redial.

“What are you doing?” Robin asked, feeling confused.

“Calling her again, of course. Operation Moonbeam, remember?”

Robin scratched his ear and listened while Henry spoke with his mother briefly. He couldn’t fathom why the boy would call her again. The woman was clearly capable of taking care of herself and with those new unpredictable powers she now possessed, he was only too happy to get out of her way. He was relieved when Henry finished his equally brief call with Regina and told him that he agreed with him. They looked at each other for a few moments, wondering what they were even doing out here, calling Regina twice. Then Henry suggested taking Roland to the school playground like they had promised him over breakfast. Henry ran back inside to tell Emma where they were going, and then the three of them were off to build a sand castle.

\---

Regina was still staring at her phone, several minutes after having spoken to both Robin and Henry. She was sitting on the bench underneath her apple tree, soaking up the morning sun like she had wanted to. A few people had walked by, but they had picked up the pace as soon as they spotted her, eager to get as far away from her as possible. The repelling spell was clearly doing its job. And it had worked over the phone as well. The two most important people in her life were now no longer trying to reach her.

It had to be done, she told herself. It was the only way to protect them from her unstable powers. But it hurt like hell.

She got up after a while and decided to take a walk down Main Street, just to see what would happen. It was almost comical to see everyone suddenly cross the street or even hail a cab to get away from her. She even saw Mary Margaret and David give her a wide berth with their pram so those two wouldn’t try to approach her anymore either. It was almost like old times, when she had instilled such fear in her subjects that they would clear the roads on mere rumours that her carriage might be approaching. This time, it was for their own good though, even if they didn’t realize it.

Regina made her way to the pawn shop. She knew Gold was in a coma, but perhaps Belle could offer her some insight in how Gold had managed to interact with people at all while having all this dark power. Maybe the bookworm even knew a way out from under these powers. She was certain Belle would have at least tried to find something that could free the man she loved, even if he hadn’t wanted to be freed.

It had taken him almost dying from a black heart before Gold had escaped the darkness and in the end, it hadn’t even been his own decision to free him. It had been Belle’s. The woman who had continued to love him despite everything. She had accepted him including his black heart. If anyone could find a way out, it was Belle.

Regina and Belle had never been the best of friends before and on top of that, the repelling spell was clearly working on the woman as well.

“I’m sorry, we’re closing,” Belle said the second she saw who her new customer was.

“It’s the middle of the morning,” Regina responded with a chuckle while she strode up to the counter. “I know you don’t like me but you don’t have to make it so obvious.”

“I just don’t want you here,” Belle blurted out, standing just outside the curtain separating the backroom from the shop. “I’m keeping watch over Rumple.”

“Yes. I heard about what happened. You do know I absorbed all of that darkness you released to save this town, right? So I’d say you owe me.”

Belle raised an eyebrow but despite the intense aversion she was feeling towards Regina, she stepped behind the counter and asked her,

“How may I help you?”

Regina was grateful for the woman’s enormous ability to accept such darkness in her vicinity, even while under a repelling spell. Belle would probably be the only one for a while that she could have an actual conversation with.

“Here’s the thing,” she told Belle. “I’m having trouble with these new powers and I’m afraid I will hurt someone.”

“Really?”

The sarcasm dripping from that one word was almost tangible. Regina tried not to let it get to her. Belle had every reason to hold a grudge against her and her dislike for her was now amplified by the spell.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but yes. I don’t want to give in to the darkness again so I need a way to control this … these outbursts without letting it take over.”

“And the reason you’re telling me all of this is because …”

Belle folded her arms in front of her chest and puckered her lips, daring Regina to finish her sentence for her.

“Because you know Rumplestiltskin better than anyone. And because he loves you, and he’s never hurt you by accident. I need to know how.”

Belle, having heard about the incident with Roland, understood the question. She was still surprised to hear that Regina was sincerely trying  _ not  _ to let the darkness take over, but that was actually the problem in her case.

“Well, you seem to be serious about this but I’m afraid I have some bad news for you,” she told the new Dark One. “The only reason Rumple was stable and in control of his powers, was because he  _ did  _ embrace the darkness. And despite loving me, he continued to choose the darkness time and time again, until his heart could take no more. That’s why he’s in a coma now.”

“Once you blacken your heart, it only grows darker and darker,” Regina mused, remembering her own words to Mary Margaret after Cora’s death.

“I’m afraid so.”

“But you still love him. You  _ married  _ him.”

There was actually a glimmer of sympathy in Belle’s eyes when she looked at Regina then.

“I did. And then I left him. He can’t help himself. He continues to break my heart. Regina, you may be afraid to hurt people physically, but the torture Rumple has inflicted on my heart may be far worse than breaking someone’s bones or even killing them. And I guess I do owe you, now that you’ve taken up the burden of his darkness. But there is no way out for you unless you are willing to give up all your dark powers forever. For love.”

“I am,” Regina insisted. “I never wanted these powers to begin with. But if I can only control them by embracing them, then there _ is  _ no way out. Once I stop fighting the darkness, I know what will happen. I’ve been down that road before.”

Regina began pacing in the shop and the items on the shelves and in the displays began to rattle. She was exuding waves of energy inadvertently and Belle walked up to her to stop her from pacing.

“Stop!” she shouted. “There  _ is _ a way out. Your friends have already found one.”

Regina stopped pacing abruptly and faced Belle.

“They have?”

“Yes! They just couldn’t reach you to tell you. And when they finally saw you, you kind of scared them off.”

Regina’s shoulders sagged. She should have answered that damned phone sooner, or called someone herself. She never should have let the Queen convince her to try and sort things out alone. Telephones were truly the best invention ever of this land without magic. She couldn’t knock someone down over the phone. She could have called Emma from inside her vault to discuss a plan.

“I need to find them,” she said, walking towards the door. But then she stopped abruptly.

“What is it?” Belle asked.

“Before I came out of my vault I … I used a repelling spell.”

“Ah. That explains the bad taste in my mouth,” Belle said with a smirk and Regina rolled her eyes.

“At least you tolerate me.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” Belle said with a shrug. “But that’s a pretty powerful spell.”

“You know how it works?” Regina asked, walking back towards Belle. Belle’s love for books was actually a very valuable asset these days. “Do you know how long the effects last?”

Belle was baffled.

“You mean you don’t?” she asked her former foe incredulously. “Wow.”

“I was desperate to protect the people I love from myself.”

Belle cocked her head and looked at her for a moment, and then gave her a hint of a smile.

“You’re really serious about this.”

“Yes. I am,” Regina confirmed and she quickly turned away when she felt a few unwelcome tears well up in her eyes.

Belle gave her a few moments to pull herself together while she retrieved a book from the backroom that held information about several spells, including the repelling spell.

“Do you have the scroll on you?” she asked when she returned to the shop.

Regina nodded and pulled it from her cleavage. The gesture made Belle smile and Regina smiled as well at last.

“I guess there’s more of the Evil Queen left in me than I realized,” she admitted.

Belle took the scroll from her hand and gave her a once-over before telling her,

“You wear it well.”

“Thanks.”

\---

**To be continued.  
Meanwhile, I'd love to know your thoughts!**


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

A month.

A whole month!

At least.

Regina was back inside her vault and she was fuming. She had been tricked. The repelling spell she had used on herself to protect her loved ones wasn’t to protect her loved ones at all. It was to keep her isolated. Alone. And she was beginning to lose the fight. It wasn’t just her evil self now in the mirrors, or her mother. They were  _ all  _ here now. The Queen. Cora. Rumplestiltskin. Zoso. And a couple of other former Dark Ones she didn’t even know by name. They were all talking to her and there was no way she would be able to continue resisting their pull for another month. Regina had destroyed all the mirrors in the mirror room in a fit of rage but it hadn’t helped one bit. She could still see them in the shards and hear them inside her head. And they were pushing all her buttons.

_ If your son can be fooled that easily, he never really loved you at all. _

_ Not even Belle could save me. It’s time to stop fighting us and join us. _

_ The only way out is death. But who will take this burden from you willingly? _

_ You don’t really want to die, do you? _

_ Emma will abandon you too. She has Henry to herself now and she won’t give him back. _

_ Love is weakness. _

_ You were too good for that thief anyway. _

_ They will all be happy to be rid of you. _

_ Power is freedom. Now use it! _

_ If you’re serious about not wanting to hurt them, you need us to channel your powers. It’s the only way to control them. _

_ You remember how it’s done, don’t you dearie? Just focus and give your new powers some room. Just a little taste, to see how you like it. _

Regina was so angry at this point that she was tempted to try it. Wielding dark magic wasn’t new to her, she knew quite well how to do it. She just needed to find a way to control it, now that she had so much of it. She shook her hands, which had started tingling due to her growing anger and frustration, and breathed out. Don’t do it, she told herself. Not unless you absolutely have to.

Trying to ignore the whispers in her head, she thought about what she could do next. She knew that anyone she reached out to now, would instantly turn away from her. That was why these dark powers hadn’t tried to stop her from using the repelling spell. Her only hope now was that she could avoid any contact with Emma, so the blonde wouldn’t lose sight of their plan. Belle didn’t know the details but after the darkness had escaped from the hat, the Apprentice had told them about a Sorcerer named Merlin who could sever the darkness from the soul it was tethered to, and then defeat it. And he had shown them a way to get to Merlin. So if she could just have contained the darkness for a little while longer, she could have been rid of it forever.

But not now.

She was truly alone now and it was her own fault. She had used dark magic again. No matter her good intentions, there was nothing light about a repelling spell. It was pure evil but she had realized that too late.

Regina recoiled when her phone buzzed, indicating she had a text. She picked up her phone cautiously, almost afraid to do anything with it for fear of repelling more of her friends. Still, reading an incoming text should be okay, and she scrolled through the list of unread messages to the one last received. It was from Emma.

_ ‘What’s going on? Robin and Henry say you don’t need us anymore. Call me.’ _

Regina was torn. Calling Emma was out of the question but what if she sent her a text? Would the spell work on texts as well? There was only one way to find out but she still hesitated. Emma and Hook were the only two people of their unusual team who hadn’t seen her or spoken with her yet after she had used the spell. If she lost Emma as well, there was no hope. Hook would never try to fight for her if he was the only one left. She had to risk it and quickly composed a text to Emma.

_ ‘Emma, I can’t call you. I used a repelling spell to keep you all away to protect you from these dark powers but I was wrong. Please talk to Belle. I can’t do this alone. Regina.’ _

\---

“What the hell …”

Hook cocked an eyebrow and looked at his girlfriend across their table at Granny’s. Emma was looking at something on her talking device.

“What is it, love?” he asked her.

“Regina sent me a text but I don’t even know what I’m reading. A repelling spell? What’s that?”

Granny walked up to them with their coffees and responded,

“To repel is to push away so I’d say it’s a pushing away spell. Although I don’t think Regina ever had any trouble pushing people away.”

Hook rubbed a hand down his face, realizing immediately what must have happened.

“I told her not to let the darkness isolate her,” he said. “Looks like she fell for it after all. What does the text say exactly?”

Emma read the text to him and he watched her face while she did it. She seemed less and less interested as she spoke, while Regina’s text was basically a cry for help. Perhaps reading the text out loud was enough for the spell to work.

“Why would I wanna talk to Belle? I’m sure she has other things to worry about than some dumb spell,” Emma said, tossing her phone to the side.

“Emma. Regina is asking for help. Don’t let that spell get to you,” Hook implored. “We will still need to get her to Merlin, remember? If not for you, then do it for the boy.”

“Henry just told me earlier that she’s fine. He’s not worried, so why should I be?” Emma said dismissively and Hook sighed. She was clearly under the spell now as well. He would need to stay as far away from that talking device as possible.

“Where is the lad now, anyway?” he asked Emma. Perhaps he could talk some sense into Henry.

“He and Robin took Roland to the school playground,” Emma told him. “Why?”

“Just trying to show some parental concern,” he said with a shit-eating grin, making Emma roll her eyes and then drop the subject.

Hook might be an unlikely ally to Regina but when it came down to it, they all were. And he wasn’t just thinking about Regina. If the darkness had really overtaken her, they were all in danger. He’d had the dubious pleasure of meeting the Evil Queen in the past and he didn’t wish her wrath on anyone, except perhaps the Crocodile. But since technically Regina now  _ was  _ the Crocodile, fortunately without the hideous scales, he had more than enough reasons to want to rid her of the dark powers that once took away his Milah as well as his hand.

They drank their coffee and when Emma told him she needed to take care of some business at the sheriff’s station, they parted ways. Hook immediately headed for the playground to find Henry. He spotted him in the sandbox with Robin and Roland. The three of them were building an impressive sand castle and he greeted them once he was close enough.

“Hey Killian,” Henry said. “You wanna help Roland dig out the moat?”

Hook sat down on the concrete edge of the sandbox.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about your mum. Regina.”

“What about her?” Henry said, not even looking up from the tower he was trying to give a pointy roof.

“She needs our help.”

“No, she doesn’t. She’s fine. We called her. Didn’t we, Robin?”

“We did and she’s really fine,” Robin confirmed.

“So where is she?” Hook asked, pretending to look around for her. “I mean, if she’s fine she can come out and hang out with you fellas again, right?”

The two seemed extremely uninterested in Regina’s company, but then Roland piped up.

“I miss Regina.”

“Really?” Robin asked his son, who had stopped digging.

Roland nodded.

“Yeah. She’s nice. Like a mama.”

Hook watched Robin exchange an uncomfortable look with Henry and he was done with this evil spell already.

“Bloody hell, you can’t have forgotten about her that quickly!” he exclaimed.

A shocked Robin wanted to make a comment about his language in front of Roland, but the young boy responded excitedly to Hook’s words.

“Can you get Regina for me?” he asked Hook, getting on his feet and walking up to the pirate. “I wanna tell her it’s okay. I know she didn’t mean to scare me.”

“Ah … ehm …”

Hook scratched the back of his neck with his hook, unsure of what to do with the child, but Roland placed his small hand on his knee trustingly.

“I’m not really sure where she is right now, little man,” Hook said hesitantly. “But maybe your papa and Henry can help us look?”

Robin gave him an exasperated look. This had to be one mean spell to make him forget about Regina so quickly. Just a day ago he’d been ready to throw himself into the line of fire for her. Roland was still eager to see Regina again though, and if he had to use the child to get the others moving again, he would.

“Can we papa? Can we find Regina?” Roland asked his father, and Robin’s heart softened when he saw the hope in his son’s eyes. He had no idea Roland had taken to Regina this much.

“Well, I guess we can give it another try. I mean … if she’s really fine now, we shouldn’t be getting any more earthquakes, right?” the man said, giving Hook a lopsided grin.

“Right,” Hook confirmed, relieved that they all at least still remembered the events of the previous day.

The four of them walked to the cemetery and Hook sidled up next to Robin while the boys walked in front of them.

“Do you remember what you said yesterday, mate?” he asked Robin. “About wanting to do anything for Regina?”

Robin frowned and thought back to the previous day. He had said something to that effect, hadn’t he? But it was all kind of fuzzy.

“Do you even remember being in a relationship with her?” Hook asked, and Robin stopped walking.

“I do,” he said, and then he looked up at Hook, confused. “But it’s like there’s a part missing. I mean, I’m not with her now, am I? But I don’t remember breaking up with her.”

“That’s because you  _ are  _ with her, mate. But she’s cast a spell to keep us all away from her.”

Robin was even more confused now. He still wasn’t used to people around him using magic and he felt out of his league sometimes. Hell, Regina taking an interest in him at all had been quite a surprise at first. A most welcome one, but still.

Hook watched the other man as he thought things over and encouraged him to remember his time with Regina. They had been joined at the hip, especially after Robin had come back from New York. They had been making up for lost time and Hook could only imagine what that had looked like for them in the bedroom.

“I don’t know what to think,” Robin admitted after a minute.

The boys had stopped walking as well, noticing that the adults weren’t following anymore and were watching them from a distance. Roland was getting impatient and walked up to his father. He grabbed his hand and tugged at it.

“Come on papa. I want to see Regina. And when we see her, you can kiss her again.”

The little boy was grinning and his eyes were twinkling and Robin couldn’t help laughing at his words. He made it sound so easy. He tried to remember the last time he kissed Regina. If they broke up, he should remember such a thing, right? But when he thought about it, the last kiss he remembered was during a walk in the moonlight, just before … before what? It didn’t make sense. He didn’t remember breaking up with her at all.

“That’s it, mate,” Hook encouraged him. “You know you still care for her.”

Robin let Roland tug him along and they continued walking until they reached the Mills family mausoleum. Henry was trying to remember what had happened as well. Why  _ was  _ his mother hiding out in her vault? It wasn’t like dark magic was something new to her, so what was the big deal? When they arrived at the mausoleum, Hook asked him if he would call his mother again to tell them they were here, and he agreed.

Hook took several steps away from the boy to make sure he wouldn’t hear Regina’s voice. Robin saw what he was doing and followed suit with Roland, still trying to make sense of what he was feeling, and also of what he wasn’t feeling. But his young son was excited to see Regina so whatever was going on, Roland hadn’t gotten any indication that there was something wrong with their relationship. And as much as he tried to remember, he couldn’t find one either. It was as if he had simply lost interest suddenly. It had to be that spell Hook was talking about. Nothing else made sense.

\---

Regina’s eyes widened when her phone began to ring. If it was Emma, she couldn’t answer. She looked at the screen and sat down on her bed when she saw it was Henry. Why would he be calling her again? Maybe he was upset with her. That repelling spell was powerful indeed. But she couldn’t refuse her son and she answered his call, closing her eyes while bracing herself to hear his voice, which would no doubt contain no love for her at all.

“Mom, we’re outside your vault. Can you come out?”

Regina frowned. Come out? And make everyone walk away from her again?

“Who’s we?” she asked cautiously. If there were only people here who she had already repelled, then maybe she could try to talk to them.

“Me, Killian, Robin and Roland. Roland wants to see you.”

Regina bit her lip and her heart ached again, thinking of the little boy.

“We know you’re fine and all and we don’t want to bother you,” Henry continued, sounding a bit bored. “But Killian keeps going on about some kind of spell and when Roland heard us talking about you, he said he misses you so he and Killian dragged us all here.”

“Hook,” Regina whispered.

To say she was surprised was an understatement. The pirate had actually come through. Maybe there was hope for the villains yet.

“Yeah. So ... can you come out?” Henry asked.

Regina was already on her feet. She tried to tell herself not to expect too much. If Hook and Roland fell under the spell as well, they would all probably just leave again. But she had to try. If Hook had been able to convince them to come see her despite the spell, maybe she could get through to Robin and Henry as well. She took a deep breath, smoothed out her jacket, straightened her shoulders and started to walk out of the room. It was all or nothing now.

_ You know this isn’t going to work, right? _ Rumplestiltskin’s voice called after her.  _ The moment you see them, you will lose control again. And maybe this time, someone will get hurt. _

Regina stopped in her tracks, her hand on the doorway of the mirror room.

_ That’s right, _ Rumple continued.  _ You have to contain it to some degree before you go out. You know that. And you know how it’s done. You have no choice. You have to do it to protect the people you love. _

Regina groaned and bowed her head, shaking it lightly. She hated to admit that he was right.

_ Just focus, _ Rumple whispered, as if he was standing right behind her like he used to when he was teaching her.  _ Yes. That’s it. Use that anger against me to channel all that glorious power. You’re doing it for ‘twue wove’ after all. For Henry. And for your thief. _

Regina shuddered, feeling the dark power course through her outstretched arms and materializing in front of her until she could capture a big chunk of it in her hands. She then raised her arms, palms out, and spread them slowly, compartmentalizing the chunk until she knew it would stay in place even after she’d release her magical hold on it. She sighed then, blinking slowly and once again straightened her shoulders. Now she was ready.

She heard Rumplestiltskin giggle behind her as she ascended the stairs to meet her visitors.

\---

**Notes chapter 4: Uh oh …**


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

The doors of the mausoleum opened and slowly, Regina stepped forward. She was in control of her powers for the most part at the moment but before she could say anything, she already saw Hook take a few steps back. One look at her was enough to make him fall under the repelling spell. She then looked at Henry, who wasn’t even looking at her but was giving Roland a little push.

Roland had the brightest smile she had ever seen painted on his angelic face.

“Regina!” he said happily.

The little boy began running towards her and Regina quickly sank down to his level and sat down on the stoop of the mausoleum. Roland crashed into her without hesitation and wrapped his little arms around her neck. Stunned, Regina slowly moved her arms around the child. Was the spell not working on him?

“I missed you,” Roland said close to her ear, and Regina held him closer to her, her eyes filling up with tears.

“I missed you too, Roland. I’m so happy to see you,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion.

When she finally looked at Robin, she couldn’t read his facial expression at all. Roland turned around as well and sat down in Regina’s lap. He then asked his papa to come join them.

“Come on papa,” he called out, beckoning his father.

Robin was still a bit confused but he felt like part of the fog in his brain was lifting. He could see clearly how fond Regina was of his child and it was strange to see them together like this. He hadn’t moved yet and the two of them were chatting now, all smiles. He could hear Roland telling Regina all about how he would start school on Monday and about their sand castle, and he was beginning to feel left out of their little moment. He began walking towards the pair at last, while he saw Hook and Henry begin to walk away in the corner of his eye. Nothing made any sense. Hook had been the one to get them here and now he was leaving?

Regina looked at him again and he saw anticipation in her eyes as he approached them. Her eyes seemed darker than before but it didn’t scare him. He was curious now. Things didn’t add up and he owed her at least a chance to talk to him.

Regina felt her heart rate soar as she saw Robin approach. She tried to keep herself centered. With little Roland sitting in her lap, it was more important than ever to control her powers. She closed her eyes briefly to mentally push the darkness back into place, willing her heart to stop pounding so wildly. When she opened her eyes again, Robin was right in front of her.

“Milady,” he said politely and the low timbre of his voice sent a chill down her spine.

“Papa, tell Regina that I digged a big, big moat!” Roland said happily and Robin chuckled.

“That he did indeed,” Robin confirmed, ruffling Roland’s hair while looking down at Regina.

She really did have the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen and he wondered now why he hadn’t approached her right away.

“Something’s off here,” he told Regina honestly.

“I know and it’s all my fault,” she replied. “I thought I was protecting everyone with this spell but … it was a trick.”

“Who’s trying to trick you then?” Robin asked.

“The darkness. These voices in my head. They want to take over and they tricked me into thinking I had to fight this battle all by myself.”

“You told me and Henry that you were fine and I … I guess I believed you?” Robin responded, questioning his own judgment as he spoke.

“That’s what this spell does. It makes you not want to be near me. I thought I was doing the right thing but …”

Robin studied Regina’s face. She was a bit pale and he didn’t really fancy the way she had her hair slicked back, but she didn’t look very much out of control now, or in need of assistance.

“You do look more in control now,” he observed and, gesturing around them, he added with a smile, “No earthquakes.”

Regina bit her lip and he couldn’t help staring for a moment.

“I had to do _something_ … for Roland,” Regina said, running her hand through Roland’s unruly mop of hair. “I couldn’t risk hurting him again so … I tapped into the dark magic just a little bit. Just to even things out.”

Robin could tell that Regina felt conflicted about her decision but he knew her intentions had been good. And that had to count for something, right? No matter how weird he felt about the whole situation, he couldn’t imagine staying away from her now. She wasn’t fine and she shouldn’t be alone. He kneeled in front of her and his son and reached for Regina’s hands. Her palms were glowing only very faintly now and she let him touch her. When he touched her hands lightly with his fingers, she let out a shuddering breath and his heart skipped a beat.

“I don’t know if I can stop that,” she said softly, looking at her glowing hands. When she turned them over, she could see tiny sparkles on the backs of her hands. It looked as if someone had spilled some silver glitters on her skin.

“It’s alright,” Robin said. “I know you don’t want to hurt us.”

Roland looked up at Regina and then back at his father in front of him. Robin knew what Roland was expecting. He’d seen them hug and kiss so many times that it would be strange for him if they didn’t share a kiss now, after being apart for several days. And what had seemed like something from another lifetime earlier, suddenly seemed like the most logical thing in the world to do.

Regina could see the look in Robin’s eyes change and she could hardly believe it. The repelling spell was still working full force and yet Robin seemed to be breaking through it. She’d seen this look many times before. He was going to kiss her …

Roland giggled when Robin leaned in and Regina’s eyes slipped closed automatically when his lips brushed against hers. She wrapped her fingers around Robin’s to anchor herself, both of their arms now locking Roland in between them as they kissed each other softly.

A burst of energy suddenly rippled from them in all directions, and it traveled across the entire town in a matter of seconds. It was felt by many.

Hook and Henry stopped dead in their tracks at the edge of the cemetery and looked at each other for a few moments. Then they simultaneously turned back around.

Emma grabbed her phone off her desk at the sheriff’s station, her eyes widening as she reopened the last text she had received that day.

Mary Margaret, who had just changed baby Neal’s diaper, covered her hand with her mouth and looked at David with wide eyes. David dropped the dirty diaper in the trash and told his wife,

“We gotta go.”

Belle looked up from the book she had been reading to her comatose husband and smiled.

“True love’s kiss,” she whispered, and then she leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on Gold’s forehead. “The most powerful magic of all.”

\---

Henry came running back and Regina stood up, her heart still pounding.

“Mom! Mom!” Henry yelled.

Robin lifted his son up and stepped back to allow Henry to jump into his mother’s open arms.

“Henry!” Regina sighed as she hugged him close, tears now trickling down her cheeks.

Hook followed a bit slower and when she saw him, she smiled at him through her tears.

“Hook … thank you,” she said sincerely.

The pirate just nodded and smiled at her, then walked over to Robin and clapped him on the back. No words were needed between the two men. Robin just smiled at Hook and returned the gesture.

Regina saw that her hands were beginning to glow brighter and she turned inward briefly to channel the conflicting streams of magic inside her again so they would stop interfering with each other. It was a dangerous game to play but it was necessary to stop the darkness from lashing out at her loved ones.

Henry looked up at his mother and wondered out loud why Roland wasn’t affected by the repelling spell.

“I’m not sure. Maybe it's because he’s so little? Belle never said anything about an age limit.”

The Blue Fairy, attracted by the wave of light magic that had burst across town, emerged from the treeline and answered their question.

“It’s because he is too young to understand deceit. He is still completely pure of heart and nothing can repel a pure heart.”

“If it wasn’t for Roland …,” Robin sighed and there was an apology in his eyes when he looked at Regina.

He set his son down and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. Regina smiled and wrapped her arm around his waist in return.

“It was my own fault,” she told him.

“You were tricked.”

“I was. They got me to use dark magic. Twice.”

“You’re on a slippery slope now, Regina,” the Blue Fairy stated. “It makes no difference to these dark forces whether your intentions were good. They will continue to gain ground from now on. We will need to act fast.”

Regina nodded and looked at her hands again, showing Blue the glitters. They both knew what those meant.

Then the sound of tires screeching echoed across the cemetery and Emma, Belle, David and Mary Margaret filed out of the police car.

“Here comes the cavalry now,” Hook said with a smirk.

\---

With everyone back on board, they discussed what would need to be done now. They would have to get going to find Merlin before the darkness would get such a hold on Regina that she wouldn’t want it removed anymore.

“I’m not sure what will happen now,” Regina admitted to the others. “I have to keep containing it to protect you but I don’t know what it will do to me.”

“I think you do,” Blue responded and Regina nodded. She knew the fairy was just being realistic and she was right.

“Yeah, I guess I do. I just don’t know how quickly. And once I lose that battle, I …”

She looked around their odd group, which had become a strangely entangled family over the past few years. Robin tightened his hold on her waist and Regina reached for Henry’s hand.

“I may start hurting people again,” Regina finished her sentence sadly.

“I’m not leaving your side again,” Robin declared. “You’re not alone anymore, Regina. I will be right beside you to remind you of what you’re fighting for.”

Regina couldn’t express how grateful she was that her friends and family hadn’t given up on her yet. But they still might. She was well aware of that.

“Robin,” she said, standing in front of him and taking both his hands in hers. “If we don’t find Merlin soon, I _am_ going to become evil again, or at the very least pull far away from all of you. I can feel it simmering underneath the surface constantly. I’m not strong enough to withstand it.”

“Not on your own,” Robin said. “That’s why the darkness tried to keep all of us away. But you’re not alone Regina. Love is stronger, always,” he assured her. “I think what just happened proves that. We will be here to remind you of who you truly are. Of who you want to be.”

His eyes lit up then and a smirk formed on his lips when he reached behind her neck with both hands.

“And we’ll start with your hair,” he announced.

He removed the clip from her hair and then ran his fingers through her dark locks, tousling it until it fell loosely around her face again. It softened her features instantly and his gesture made her smile.

“There it is,” he whispered, echoing his words from several months earlier, and there was no need to finish his sentence about how much he loved her smile. He pulled her close to him and the others were suddenly very interested in watching the grass grow when their lips met in a long, intimate kiss. Regina felt the darkness inside her retreat, almost as if it was afraid of what was happening, and it made her not want to stop kissing Robin. Maybe he could just love it all away. She chose to ignore the voices in her head that were whispering that this time, maybe she _could_ have everything. Love _and_ power. That it was all just a matter of balance.

“Papa!”

Robin felt Roland’s little hand tug at his jacket and he finally broke off the very long and very public kiss he and Regina had been sharing. He knew she had needed it, but so had he. Now that the repelling spell had been broken, his concern for her had returned multiplied. They would need to get going soon to sever her from these dark powers once and for all. But first, his son wanted to say something, and Robin crouched down beside the child.

“I want to show Regina our sand castle,” the boy said proudly. “And it’s not finished yet.”

Robin smiled and glanced at the others, who also seemed ready to leave as soon as possible.

“I suppose we could check out Roland’s castle before we leave,” Mary Margaret said.

“And we haven’t discussed yet who’s coming along,” David remarked, giving his wife a pointed look.

“You’re not leaving me here!” Mary Margaret exclaimed.

“Someone has to stay with Neal,” David said.

“I’ve been cooped up with him for months!”

“You didn’t have to be! You were the one who wouldn’t let anyone else take care of him!”

While the spouses bickered, the others left them alone and conferred with each other.

“Well, I’m coming along for sure,” Emma stated.

“I’m with you,” Hook responded.

“She’s _my_ mother,” Henry said.

“I owe her!” they heard Mary Margaret say loudly and Regina swallowed hard. Everyone wanted to come along to help her? What had she done to deserve this, from any of them, let alone Snow White?

“We _all_ owe her,” David all but yelled back. “But that doesn’t mean we all have to go. And we’re most certainly not bringing Neal.”

“Fine. Then you stay behind to look after him.”

“I’m going with Emma.”

“Me too.”

“Snow!”

“Mom! Dad!”

Emma decided to jump in since her parents clearly weren’t going to agree on this.

“You don’t have to come. Either of you. We’ve got this.”

She gestured at Belle, Hook, Robin, Regina and Henry. Robin quickly stepped forward and added,

“And I need someone to look after Roland for us.”

Mary Margaret was baffled and David started backtracking too when he realized he might be left behind as well. Finally, Regina spoke up.

“Look, as much as I appreciate that you all want to help me, I don’t need this many babysitters. I need Emma of course, because she has light magic. And I guess that means Hook’s coming too,” she added with a dismissive gesture in the pirate’s direction. “And Belle …”

Regina looked at the other woman and Belle smiled at her, an understanding passing between them.

“I’d be happy to come but someone needs to keep an eye on Rumple.”

“I can help with that,” Blue said.

She waved her wand and made a bell jar appear which contained a floating rose. She explained to Belle that as long as the rose had petals, it would mean that her husband was still alive.

“Your knowledge is very valuable, Belle. I’m sure that what you've learned from books, can be of great assistance to the others.”

Belle nodded, pursing her lips while she studied the rose. One petal floated down, although it stayed suspended inside the bell jar. There were still many petals left and after a moment, she agreed to come along.

“Thank you, Belle,” Regina said sincerely.

She then turned to David and Mary Margaret again.

“So she’s coming too and I need Robin and Henry close to …”

She glanced at Robin and borrowed the phrase he had used earlier.

“To remind me of who I want to be. Of what I’m fighting for. And to keep the darkness at bay. As for you two … well …”

Mary Margaret sighed and shook her head lightly when she said,

“You don’t really need us for anything. I get it.”

“But the town needs you,” Emma said, hoping to cheer her parents up. “Dad, you’ll have to man the sheriff’s station while I’m away, just like before. And mom, Neal needs you. And if you could look after Roland that would be a great help, since he’s just about to start school.”

“And you could fill in as mayor again,” Regina added. “Just … don’t do any more redecorating of my office, alright?”

Mary Margaret’s shoulders sagged when she realized they really weren’t coming along and David accepted it as well, but not before giving Hook a very stern warning that his daughter had better come home safely or he would hunt him down. Emma just rolled her eyes and turned back to Robin and Regina.

“All set?”

“Not quite,” Regina said with a smile. “I do believe I have a sand castle to check out first.”

\---

The group spent some time admiring Roland’s creation and Henry helped him complete the drawbridge over the moat as the adults looked on. They were each caught up in their own thoughts, dreading the goodbye that was imminent. Emma explained to Regina that she was the only one who could wield the Apprentice’s wand and Regina realized that it meant she would have to get them back home as well.

“That’s the plan,” Emma confirmed. “Nobody gets left behind. Not in this family.”

They said their goodbyes and Roland cried a little, but they promised him they would be back soon and Regina would be back to normal again. Emma handed Regina the wand and then Regina reached inside her jacket and took out the dagger. They exchanged a look of understanding. They all needed each other on this journey, but what they needed most was a good defence against the darkness. The voices inside Regina’s head were all but shouting at her not to give up control but she knew she had to. Her hand shook as she handed the dagger over, and it was proof to both of them that it was the right thing to do.

“I’m counting on you to use it if it becomes necessary,” Regina said.

Emma gave her a curt nod, then responded,

“I’m counting on you to make sure it won’t be necessary.”

They all stood back when Regina raised the wand. After she had carefully drawn a circle in the air three times, a bolt of lightning shot from the wand and a portal opened above them. It took some effort to make it come down to street level, and it attracted attention of many others in Storybrooke. By the time they were ready to step through, quite a crowd had gathered in the street in front of the school.

“Oh no, not again!” they heard Grumpy say loudly.

The group turned around to face him and the other dwarves.

“We’ve been on the sidelines too long, sister!” Grumpy told them, addressing Emma. “Missed too many adventures. It’s embarrassing! How do you think it feels when everyone asks you how the adventure was, and you gotta say that no one asked you to go along; that you weren’t needed!”

Mary Margaret gave Emma a look and Emma knew her parents could relate to Grumpy’s complaint this time.

“Things could get dangerous,” she warned Grumpy and his brothers, and some of them took a small step back.

“We wanna help,” Happy said, and Grumpy nodded.

“A few extra hands won’t hurt, right sister?” he asked Regina. “If you’re serious about turning your life around, I’m with you.”

Regina bit her lip and glanced at Emma and they agreed wordlessly that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to have some extra help.

“Alright, who’s coming?” Emma asked the dwarves. “The ones who stay here will be David’s deputies until we get back.”

Some of the dwarves were excited to be deputies, and in the end, Grumpy and Happy would come with them while the others would keep Storybrooke safe. The group of now eight people said their last farewells and then turned towards the portal. Robin joined Regina and took her hand and then Henry stepped forward and took her other hand. Emma and Hook followed them and Grumpy and Happy stood next to Belle. Then they all stepped through the portal.

\---

**A/N: This may not be what some of you had expected but obviously, even without the repelling spell, Regina isn't out of the woods yet. To be continued.**


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

“Where are we?” Henry asked after they had emerged from the portal and the dust had settled.

They found themselves in a clearing surrounded by trees and Robin had a feeling he’d been here before.

“Could we be in the Enchanted Forest?” he asked.

“Cool!” Henry said, excited to finally be in the land where his family was from.

“These do look like the trees of the Enchanted Forest,” Regina said, “but if we’re really back, we’re a long way from my palace.”

“Merlin should be around here somewhere,” Hook said, “but perhaps we should find a way to blend in before we go looking for him.”

Emma arched an eyebrow, remembering what had happened the first time she had ended up in the Enchanted Forest, and Hook had made her change so she wouldn’t stick out in her red leather jacket. She was not a dress girl and never would be.

Regina suddenly heard the sounds of hoofbeats approaching in the distance, although none of the others could hear them yet. Perhaps super hearing came with the Dark One’s powers. They had a few minutes before the horses and their riders would reach them, and they all agreed to simply let Regina poof them into less conspicuous outfits.

Robin was happy to be back in his normal clothes that he used to wear in the Enchanted Forest, including his magic bow, and Henry looked very smart in a brown tunic over a white blouse and dark brown pants. Grumpy and Happy looked like their normal selves again in their dwarf outfits while Belle was also wearing one of her own light blue dresses from long ago. Emma was less than amused to suddenly be in a maroon colored dress that pushed her breasts up, giving her a cleavage she didn’t even know she had, but Hook seemed to appreciate it. His black leather had been replaced by clothes resembling Robin’s, only instead of being armed with a bow and arrows he carried a saber on his hip.

After checking their own clothes, all eyes turned to Regina. Her hair was pinned up and she had traded her all black outfit for a high collar cream-colored dress that made her look demure in a way none of them had ever seen.

“What?” she asked when she saw everyone staring, the fire in her eyes definitely making her look less demure instantly.

“You look …” Emma started and Regina rolled her eyes.

“I know. Ordinary,” she huffed, clearly uncomfortable with her new look. “But that’s the point, right? No need to broadcast that I’m the Dark One. Nobody’s going to help us find Merlin if they know.”

“Agreed,” Emma said. “We can only tell Merlin himself why we’re really here when we find him, so not a word to anyone about Regina being the Dark One, alright everyone? For now, we just need Merlin to help save our town.”

Regina nodded at Emma, agreeing with her as well as thanking her wordlessly, and they started walking in the direction of the approaching horses. Regina fell back a little and Robin sidled up next to her.

“Are you alright now?” he asked Regina quietly, brushing his fingers against hers.

“I’m in control, if that’s what you mean,” she replied neutrally.

She didn’t want Robin to worry but it was taking some effort for her to keep the darkness at bay. The Queen had reappeared and was watching her from a distance, walking along with the group between the trees. As if to mock her, she was now dressed the way Regina had been earlier, clearly wanting to underline that they were still very much the same person.

“You’re beautiful,” Robin said softly and she smiled, focusing on him instead of the Queen.

“You’re into ordinary, I know,” she said with a smirk and Robin chuckled.

“I fell in love with who you are, Regina. Not with what you look like.”

She turned her head to look at him, one eyebrow raised.

“The stunning package was just a huge bonus,” he added with a grin.

Regina reached for his hand and squeezed it. Just then, the men on horseback appeared around the bend and their small group stopped to see who these knights were.

“Greetings,” the bearded leader of the group said kindly. “I'm King Arthur of Camelot. We've come to find you.”

“Find us?” Hook asked, exchanging a glance with Emma.

Another knight spoke up.

“My Lord, they think their arrival is a surprise.” 

“You were expecting us,” Robin remarked. 

“It was Merlin,” Arthur confirmed. “He prophesied your coming here a long time ago, just as he prophesied many things.” 

“Merlin. Where is he? We were told that he's been missing,” Emma said, stepping forward as the leader of their band of eight. 

King Arthur confirmed that Merlin had indeed been missing for years, but he wouldn’t be for much longer.

“Because according to his prophecy, you're destined to reunite him with us. Now, then, if you'll all follow me …”

“Where?” Emma asked.

With a smile, the King replied,

“Why, Camelot, of course.”

\---

They were amazed to be walking into King Arthur’s castle, especially Henry and the dwarves. They were elated to finally be a part of all the stories that they had only heard of or read about in books so far. Seeing Henry’s sparkling eyes brought a smile to Regina’s face and she found it grounding in a way she hadn’t known she needed. The Evil Queen was still there, but she was further away now. It was as if the darkness couldn’t stay close to her while she was surrounded by other people, especially people who truly cared about her.

Robin was her rock, always staying nearby even if he couldn’t keep holding her hand now that they were in Arthur’s court. Arthur introduced them to his wife, Queen Guinevere, and they were very surprised to learn that Arthur, knowing in advance that they were coming, had organized a ball in their honor. Grumpy was excited, telling Happy that they were right to come along, but Robin was worried.

“We don’t have time to waste on a bloody dance,” he whispered to Emma. “She hides it well but Regina is really struggling to hold it together.”

“I’m not going to go dark in one night,” Regina said, having heard Robin, but Emma agreed that it might be wise to let Arthur know they really needed to find Merlin. She approached the royal couple and asked them when they could start their quest to find the Sorcerer.

“Find him?” the King asked, and then he smiled. “We don’t need to find him. We know exactly where he is.”

Arthur then led them out to the courtyard of the castle and showed them a huge tree. He explained that Merlin had been trapped inside that tree for a long time.

“So, the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms is stuck inside a bloody tree?” Hook exclaimed, baffled.

“I said the same exact thing the first time I stood there,” Arthur admitted. 

“And you think we can get him out?” Emma asked and Arthur assured her,

“Oh, we don't think. We know. Merlin's prophecies are never wrong.”

Arthur’s first knight, Percival, then asked them why they were so eager to free him, and after exchanging a glance with Regina, Emma explained that their home was being threatened by someone called the Dark One and they were told Merlin could help defeat him.

“The Dark One. Yes, we're well aware of that demon. That is bad,” Arthur agreed. “Well, I pray Merlin can help. But, first, we must free him from his prison. It is said one of you is the Savior. So which of you is it?”

This was an easy one and while Emma still wasn’t comfortable with the label, she told the King with more confidence than she was feeling,

“I am the Savior. I'm the one who's going to free Merlin from that tree, with the help of my friend, who is a powerful sorceress.”

She gestured at Regina and promised the King,

“Together, we will take care of the Dark One. And all go home.”

\---

“I didn’t think a savior needed any help,” Percival mused as they all returned to the castle. “Do you trust these strangers, your Majesty?”

“They arrived exactly like Merlin said they would. I trust the prophecy,” Arthur stated. “Don’t you?”

Percival hesitated.

“There’s something about that Sorceress. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“They are strangers in a strange land. Of course they will feel a bit misplaced,” Arthur said dismissively. “If you wish to find out more about them, you may. Just make sure you don’t get in their way.”

Percival nodded, and then fell back a little until he was walking next to Emma.

“A question for the Savior if I may, Milady?” he asked her politely.

“Of course,” Emma said, making an effort to smile.

“You told us you came here from another realm. How did you learn about where to find Merlin?”

Emma explained briefly to him that the Apprentice showed them the way and if Percival was surprised, he didn’t show it.

“And the Sorceress?” he asked, almost as an afterthought.

“She’s been teaching me to use my magic,” Emma replied without missing a beat, and it wasn’t a lie. “You see, I didn’t actually know I was the Savior at first. I’m from a land without magic and I haven’t been at this … saving thing for long. And she masters both light and dark magic, which we actually needed to get here.”

Percival seemed to understand.

“And you?” he asked. “What kind of magic do you wield?”

“Only light magic. I think,” she added with an apologetic smile.

“A savior in training. How interesting,” Percival said.

Emma glanced at Hook and Henry, who were walking beside her. They both smiled at her encouragingly.

“She’s getting the hang of it, don’t worry. My mom will get it done,” Henry said confidently.

“Your mother? The Savior has a son?”

This time, Percival was unable to hide his surprise.

“Yes, she does,” Henry said proudly.

\---

Guinevere had made sure that quarters were prepared for their guests. After she learned that Henry was Emma’s son, he was roomed with his mother and Belle. Robin had quickly introduced himself as the Sorceress’s husband so he would not have to leave Regina’s side. When they went to check their accommodations, Regina smiled slyly at him once they were alone in their room.

“Husband huh?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Robin wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him.

“Seemed like the best way to make sure I could keep you close to me at all times,” he smiled.

He leaned in for a gentle kiss but then the others came walking in and they quickly broke apart.

“Nice move, Hood,” Hook said, feeling slightly jealous of the other man. Apparently, nobody had assumed he and Emma were together, and he had been put up in a room with the two dwarves. Robin just grinned proudly and Regina elbowed him in the ribs when she saw the way both men were behaving.

“Down boys.”

Emma rolled her eyes and then asked Regina if she had any ideas about getting Merlin out of the tree. They agreed that they would inspect the tree and search Merlin’s tower for clues together with Belle. Meanwhile there seemed to be no way around the ball that night and by nightfall, they all got ready. Henry was even less enthusiastic than the adults and while the two couples as well as Belle and Grumpy were soon dancing on the dancefloor, he was very bored, until he spotted a girl who was about his age.

Hook gave Emma a look while they danced together, and then nodded in Henry’s direction. Her mouth fell open when she saw her son staring at a girl. She made eye contact with Regina, who had just noticed the same thing.

“I’ll give the lad a friendly push,” Hook said, and when they passed the other couple, Robin stepped in to take over from Hook while Percival asked for a dance with the Sorceress.

Regina tried to keep track of Henry when she saw him walk up to the girl he had been watching, but the knight quickly caught her full attention when he began talking to her.

“I trust you are having a lovely evening?” Percival asked.

“Oh yes,” she said quickly. “Everything’s … who is that girl talking to Henry?”

“The better question is, who are you?” the knight responded.

Regina’s eyes widened slightly and then automatically sought Robin out, but he was still engrossed in his dance with Emma.

“What do you mean?” she asked Percival a little nervously. Had she been outed as the Dark One already? But instead of outing her on the spot, the knight continued to perform the intricate dance with her that they were in, while telling her a story about a young boy who saw his entire village in the Enchanted Forest go up in flames. As he spoke, Regina began to understand what this was about. It wasn’t about her being the Dark One. Her past had just caught up with her. This man had recognized her as the Evil Queen! He told her that the boy had hidden when he had found his family home burnt to the ground, and had seen the woman responsible walk through the carnage she had caused.

“You were the boy,” she said on an exhale, her eyes looking for Robin once more.

“And you were the Evil Queen,” Percival replied.

“Who else knows? Who have you told?” she asked him, feeling a panic rise up in her chest. Over Percival’s shoulder, she saw her evil self leaning against a pillar, a wide smile on her face.

“No one,” came the reply.

“Why not?”

“Because Arthur would have stopped me from doing this!”

The knight quickly drew his sword and pointed it at her while Regina jumped back just as quickly, and there was a commotion as the couples around them retreated, except for Emma and Robin. But before either of them could do anything, Regina had already raised her hands. It was a reflex. A wave of magic flew from her palms and disarmed the knight, making him land on his back with his own sword pressing down flat on his throat. She walked up to him, all her senses on high alert, and loomed over him. The man’s eyes widened with hate as well as fear. She could see the fear in him that had made her feel powerful for many years but this time, it was a very painful reminder of how far gone she had truly been. The man looked up at her as if he was seeing someone she no longer wanted to be. The Queen’s evil laugh echoed around her - or was it just in her head? - and she knew she had allowed the darkness to take yet another piece of her. Self-preservation was a strong urge, almost impossible to resist and she felt her entire body tingling with a need to finish the job. The whispers in her head were trying to coax her into giving in and using her new powers again.

“Regina,” Robin said softly.

She heard him but she remained focused on the knight in front of her, her dark eyes boring holes in Percival’s. The man glared up at her defiantly, daring her to kill him.

“Regina!” Robin tried again, louder this time.

He walked up to her, wanting to put a hand on her arm. Before he could touch her, Percival spat,

“Do it! Show everyone who you really are, Sorceress! Just do it!”

Regina could feel the dark fire rising inside her, getting ready to strike. She was still pressing the sword down on Percival’s throat with her magic. One twist would be enough to cut his head clean off. Then, suddenly, she went limp and stumbled before finding her bearings. The sword no longer pressed down on Percival’s throat and the night coughed, gasping for air while trying to sit up. Regina looked around her frantically, wondering what had suddenly rendered her powerless. As Robin finally grabbed her arm and pulled her against him, Regina saw what had happened. Underneath Emma’s dress, the blonde was holding the dagger that controlled the Dark One. She had ordered her to stop. In that moment, Regina truly hated Emma again. When Henry came running up to them with the girl in tow, she tried to reel herself in. She knew she should be grateful but it took her longer this time to shake off the darkness. The angry fire was still raging inside her and the voices fueled her outrage about being controlled by someone else.

Arthur ordered a few guards to drag Percival off and to lock him up for the time being, until he could speak with him. While the King reassured the other guests that everything was under control, Regina tried to get a grip on her emotions. Robin was caressing her back and Henry was by her side as well, holding her hand. She tried to focus on her loved ones and to let go of her anger against the knight who had attacked her as well as the woman who had stopped her from killing him.

When Arthur returned, he asked his guests if they were alright.

“I hope you'll accept my apology,” he said sincerely. “We don't normally try and kill our guests in Camelot. Percival's actions were inexcusable.”

“But he was right,” Regina replied, still feeling slightly lightheaded from her outburst. “I _am_ the Evil Queen.”

“Camelot is a place of second chances. Who you were doesn't matter, just who you are,” the king said sincerely. “And if you can really help the Savior free Merlin as prophesied, you are and will remain welcome here.”

They thanked Arthur and then Robin and Regina excused themselves to go back to their chambers. Robin could tell that Regina needed some space to calm down. He had seen a wild look in her eyes for a few moments after Emma had stopped her from killing the knight and he knew she needed to retreat for the time being, before she would say or do something she would truly regret.

\---


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

As soon as they were in their room and Robin had closed the door, Regina began pacing. She felt incredibly restless, and not just because someone had attacked her. She knew that she had never truly been in danger because of all the powers she now possessed, and that was exactly what was bothering her.

She had used dark magic again. And she had liked it. Again.

The glitters on the backs of her hands were more prominent now and she knew that the darkness was gaining ground quickly. This feeling was way too familiar.

It had felt good to lash out and it reminded her of that very first time she had done so. She had broken through her mother’s magical hold on her and had pushed her into the mirror, freeing herself of the woman’s hold on her life at last - at least temporarily. It had been the first time she had truly felt like she had a say; that she could actually be in control of her own life. And now these dark powers were urging her to take control again.

Focus. Channel. Control. Prepare. Strike. Destroy. Rule.

But Emma had her dagger and it had infuriated her that the blonde had actually used it. Once again, control had been taken away from her and she had a hard time coming back from that.

“Regina,” Robin said, hoping to make her stop pacing. “Please. Stand still for a moment.”

She complied with an annoyed sigh and looked up at Robin when he stood in front of her.

“What?”

Robin held up his hands in mock surrender but couldn’t suppress a cheeky grin, which made Regina tilt her head and look at him with even more impatience in her eyes.

“I’m sorry but you’re so damned beautiful when you’re all fired up,” he admitted and that made Regina ease up a little at last. She dropped her forehead against his chest and shook her head, mumbling an apology she didn’t entirely mean. But the way Robin just accepted her exactly as she was, was disarming.

Robin wrapped his arms around her and although he could tell she wasn’t relaxing completely, it was a start. He knew she was on a slippery slope, like Blue had said, and he knew she had used dark magic again. But he was willing to step into the line of fire for her, even if she was the one dishing out the fire.  _ When you see the good in someone, you don’t give up on them. _ Will Scarlett’s words from a while ago were ingrained in his mind forever. He had listened to the man then and he was still listening now.

“It’s happening, Robin,” he heard Regina say against his chest

“I know.”

He had seen her hands and he knew what those glitters meant. He kissed the crown of her head and when she looked up at him, he kissed her nose, just to make her smile.

“Why can’t true love’s kiss just make this all go away?” she asked him, and she sounded so vulnerable that he wished that he could just make it all better with a kiss.

“I don’t know that, Regina,” he told her honestly. “Just know that I do love you and I will not leave you to fight this battle alone.”

“I bet this wasn’t what you signed up for when you said you saw a second chance in me.”

Robin pulled his shoulders up and sighed.

“Maybe not, but that’s what you do when you fall in love. You go wherever that love takes you.”

“Even into the darkness?”

He stared into her eyes then. His first instinct was to say yes, but he couldn’t help wondering if there was more to her question than a simple plea for confirmation that he was still on her side.

“Are you … asking me to follow you into the darkness?”

Regina shivered and looked away, staring at something - or someone? - in the corner of their room and the fact that she wasn’t answering him, worried him deeply. He rubbed her shoulders gently and when she still didn’t look at him, he asked her,

“What’s going on, Regina? What’s  _ really  _ going on?”

She slowly raised her eyes to meet his and the dark look he saw in them almost made him want to take a step back. Almost. But he didn’t.

“I’m losing the fight.”

Her quiet answer frightened him more than anything. Maybe he should be grateful that she was telling him this; that she wasn’t closing herself off completely yet. But the truth was, he had no idea what to say or do now. He’d felt out of his depth before but this was taking things to a whole new level. He knew nothing of battling dark magical powers, let alone about actually carrying those powers around inside you. His life consisted of choices. He’d made a lot of bad ones and then he’d tried to make amends by turning his life around and making good choices instead. That was what Regina was doing as well. She wanted to make amends. He got that part. But this? This dark look she was giving him? He didn’t know what to do.

“I’ll understand if you want to leave now.”

Regina had spoken softly, looking away from him again but the sadness oozing from her words suddenly made it crystal clear to him what he had to do. He was  _ not  _ abandoning her now. On the contrary. He would not allow this darkness to isolate her from her loved ones again. He had vowed not to leave her side and he intended to keep that vow. For her.

His hands flew up to frame Regina’s face and before she could even take a breath, his mouth descended on hers. She froze for a moment but as soon as he all but forced her lips apart, she moaned and granted him access. He deepened the kiss and began walking her backwards towards the bed while devouring her mouth. Regina’s arms slipped around his neck and he easily lifted her up. He put one knee on the bed and then let them both fall on the soft mattress, never once breaking their intimate kiss until Regina bounced on the mattress and let out a muffled groan.

When he raised himself up and crawled over her, she was simply staring up at him, waiting for his next move. Her arms had fallen limply next to her head and her chest was heaving but she did nothing. It was an unusual display of submissiveness, not at all what he’d come to expect from his feisty queen in the bedroom, and it made him slow down. He kissed her softly on the lips once more and then began kissing a trail down her cheek and neck until he was met by the tight fabric of her dress. There was a puff of purple and grey smoke around them, and when he looked at Regina again, the dress was gone and so were his clothes, and their bed was turned down. He was at a loss for words and simply growled when he continued the exploration of her warm skin.

He wanted to take his time with her now that she had given in but Regina’s movements and actions soon became impatient. She needed him and if this was the way to chase away the darkness, he would gladly do it.

They were intense - more intense than ever before. Regina was whispering things he couldn’t understand and at times he felt like she was fighting him as much as whatever was going on inside her head. She seemed to be arguing with herself at times. There was truly a war raging inside her that he wished he could see. But he was going on intuition alone and just loved her as deeply and passionately as he could, speaking softly to her while he made love to her, hoping to keep the other voices in her head at bay.

They took turns being in charge as always, but as they approached the inevitable climax of their lovemaking, Robin flipped Regina on her back once more and took the lead. She didn’t fight him this time and just looked up at him as if she was looking straight into his soul. She probably was.

“I love you,” he told her and as he rocked into her he continued, “More than I’ve ever … loved … anyone … before.”

Her body arched off the bed, responding to his movements as well as his words and when she let out a guttural groan it wasn’t just their bodies shaking. He felt like the entire room shook with them and then he was right there with her, letting pleasure engulf the both of them.

A couple of books fell off a shelf in Belle, Emma and Henry’s room, followed by a vase that smashed to pieces on the tile floor. In the hallway, a sword and an axe fell from their placeholders on the wall as their chambers shook for several seconds.

“What was that?!” Henry exclaimed.

They had just gotten to their room after Arthur and Guinevere had made a brave attempt to save what was left of the party. But once Arthur had left to have a talk with his disgraced knight Percival, Emma and Hook had taken Henry upstairs to the living quarters of the castle. Belle had said she would join them shortly.

“Bloody hell, what is she up to now?” the pirate said. 

The three of them rushed across the hallway to Robin and Regina’s room and stormed in without hesitation, fully expecting to find Regina in some kind of magical meltdown. They were in no way prepared for what they saw when they entered.

\---

Regina was catching her breath after what had felt like an explosion of light hitting all her senses at the same time. She had been fighting to stay in the present the whole time she was with Robin, focusing on him, his body and his voice, and his love for her while trying to chase away the other voices inside her head. She had clung to him when the voices wanted to convince her that she could have everything this time: power  _ and  _ love. The voices had been tempting but they had been drowned out time and time again by that one voice she needed to hear.

“Stay with me,” he had whispered several times, probably without even realizing it, but it had been exactly what she needed.

She knew  _ that  _ was the voice that would keep her safe. Not those other voices. Not the ones that wanted to pull her down, back into the dark, lonely life she used to have. Robin _ couldn’t  _ follow her into the darkness and more importantly, she didn’t want him to. He didn’t belong there, just like Henry and Emma didn’t. The whole reason she had refused Emma’s help in Storybrooke when the darkness had sought her out, had been to protect her from it because she belonged in the light. And so did Robin. If she truly wanted this love in her life, Robin’s love as well as Henry’s, she would have to keep resisting the darkness to get back to the light - to them. Once she had fully embraced the light once more and had surrendered to it, to Robin’s love, she had come undone in a way she never had before, physically as well as emotionally.

Robin had saved her, again.

He was still half on top of her, his face buried in her messy locks and their legs tangled in the sheets as they both caught their breaths, when suddenly the door to their room burst open.

The first thing Regina saw were her son’s wide eyes, filled with concern and a slight panic; feelings which were replaced in an instant by something else entirely when he saw her and Robin in bed together. He went from utter surprise to a mixture of relief and amusement, combined with far too little mortification for her taste. Because she felt completely mortified herself.

Robin had the good sense to wrap his arm around Regina’s chest, after which Regina quickly grabbed their sheet to cover their upper halves while she stared their three most unwelcome guests down. Emma was trying to push Henry behind her but they all knew he had seen more than enough to know what was going on.

“Guys!” Robin finally said, propping himself up on one elbow and tossing his head in the direction of the door. “Go away!”

“We just … we …” Emma stammered.

Hook was the first to move. He grabbed Henry’s arm and dragged the boy away, back to his own room.

“Why the hell did you all come barging in here?!” Regina asked the flustered blonde.

“The whole castle just shook,” Emma said, looking anywhere but at the couple in bed. “Or at least this section of it. We thought you … you were … you know … out of control somehow.”

“The whole castle?” Robin asked and when Regina looked at him she could tell that he felt pretty proud about what they had apparently just accomplished.

She had a mind to smack him against the back of the head and then she suddenly realized that she felt normal again. Well, aside from the enormous sense of satisfaction her body was still tingling with maybe, but she felt completely herself again. The Queen was gone and even the whispers had stopped for the time being.

“Robin!” she just said, giving him a look that was supposed to be annoyed, but she was unable to stop herself from smiling, feeling incredibly relieved to be able to joke around again like this.

“Okay. I’m gonna go now,” Emma said, holding her hands out by way of apology and still looking anywhere but at them. “I can see that everything’s fine in here. If you could just ... no …”

Emma shook her head. She couldn’t tell them not to do that again. However mortified she felt about barging in on them like this, she knew that after the way she had felt forced to use the dagger to stop Regina earlier, this was probably the best outcome imaginable for Regina - although she had definitely not imagined it at all, nor had she wanted to.

“Just get out of here Miss Swan. I’m fine,” Regina told her.

Emma finally looked at the other woman and gave her a nod.

“I mean … I’m fine now,” Regina added, her voice gentler than before. “Thanks to Robin. This is just … awkward, that’s all. We hadn’t expected an audience.”

“We were just worried.”

“I understand.”

“Okay. Goodnight,” Emma said quickly before rushing out of the room and closing the door behind her.

The two lovers dropped their heads back on their pillows simultaneously and let out a deep sigh. Then they turned their heads to look at each other and slowly, a smile appeared on both their faces.

“Robin, you pulled me back from the brink.”

“I didn’t know what else to do,” Robin admitted. “I just needed to keep you as close to me as possible.”

Regina turned on her side to face him and he raised his arm so she could snuggle up to him and wrapped it around her shoulder.

“It doesn’t get much closer than that.”

“Exactly.”

They looked at each other for a while, enjoying what little afterglow was left after the way they had been rudely interrupted. Regina felt more like herself than she had since becoming the Dark One and Robin was glad he was able to pull her back from whatever she had experienced earlier.

“So … we shook the castle,” he remarked after a while.

“Yeah. I guess we did. And I think we scarred my son for life.”

Robin chuckled.

“You want me to talk to him?”

“No!”

He raised his eyebrows after her quick and firm answer.

“Please … don’t embarrass him any further. I’m sure Hook and Emma are taking care of things. It’s bad enough that everyone knows what we were up to now.”

“I’m not ashamed of loving you, Regina.”

“Yeah, well … knowing something is one thing but actually seeing it?”

Robin chuckled and kissed her forehead.

“I suppose you’re right about that. I wouldn’t want Roland to walk in on us either.”

“Did you know my mother actually had a thing with Gold once?”

“What?”

“That was my reaction too. I mean … Rumplestiltskin? With the gold-colored scales? Gross!”

“I’m so glad you’re still as stunning as ever.”

“Hmmm, thank you for that.”

Robin caressed Regina’s back and shoulder while they talked, and it filled him with wonder how normally they were chatting now after such an eventful week and an even more eventful evening. The woman he loved was now the Dark One and they had traveled to Camelot to find a man trapped inside a tree to free her. Someone had tried to kill her and they had just made love in a way that had shook an entire castle yet here they were, just talking about whatever popped in their heads as if they were having breakfast at Granny’s. He cherished these moments with Regina. Soon, they would return to their mission and these dark powers might try to lure Regina back again but right now, he was content. Happy. This was what they were fighting for and he wasn’t ready to give up on their happy ending yet.

\---

**A/N: I thought that this was more effective than horseback riding to get Regina’s heart racing ;) I hope you agree!**

**Also, in case you didn’t know, I would really, really love to hear your thoughts on this story! When you guys are so quiet, I wonder if anyone is still interested :)**


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